Book 1 was disappointing and Book 2 moreso. Williams is a good enough writer to just about hold it together and some plot elements are intriguing, but overall it's just not moved very fast: almost 1,600 pages into the story, and more than halfway, and little plot movement has taken place.

I've been repeatedly told that Books 3 and 4 are a vast improvement, so I'll stick with it, but this is definitely not Williams's best work to date.